Roller shades, or blinds as they are sometimes referred to, are common forms of window coverings used in residential and commercial applications. Roller shades are typically mounted within or exterior to a window frame by means of mounting brackets that are screwed or otherwise fastened to structural elements of the window, window frame or of the wall or ceiling adjacent to the window frame. It is in most cases desirable to mount the brackets such that the roller shade is positioned as close as possible (or practical) to the window in order to minimize the amount of light infiltration between the edges of the shade and the wall or window frame to which it is mounted. However, care must also be taken to allow for sufficient spacing between the roller and the window to permit the fabric or material to be wound and unwound upon the roller tube without binding upon either the wall, ceiling, window frame or glass.
When mounting a roller blind or shade it is also important that the blind be level or horizontal for not only obvious aesthetic purposes, but also to ensure a proper functioning of the blind. If the roller tube upon which the shade is wound is not horizontal, the blind with tend to “telescope” on the roller as it is wound up. Excessive telescoping can cause the edge of the blind to come into contact with the mounting brackets, which can result in damage to the shade material or a binding of the roller tube to the point that it will not function properly.
It will thus be appreciated that careful and time consuming measurements are often required in order to properly mount a blind or shade. The degree of difficulty in mounting the brackets to hold the shade increases in situations where the existing window, window frame, wall and/or ceiling is not perfectly straight or perfectly plumb.
To assist in the mounting of roller shades or blinds, others have suggested the use of adjustable mounting brackets that allow for a degree of vertical movement of the ends of the brackets in order to assist in the horizontal leveling of the roller tube (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,419, incorporated herein by reference). While such adjustable mounting brackets can be of assistance in horizontally leveling the roller shade, they only provide a vertical adjustment and provide no assistance in terms of a horizontal adjustment to enable an installer to “square” the blind or shade with the wall or window in a horizontal plane.
Standard and currently existing mounting brackets are generally designed for attachment to either vertical surfaces (for example, walls or vertical members of a window frame) or to horizontal surfaces (for example, ceilings, bulkheads or horizontal members of a window frame). However, where the mounting brackets provide for vertical adjustment to assist in horizontally leveling the shade, wall and ceiling mounting brackets are not interchangeable. In that regard, wall brackets include a mounting flange that is positioned perpendicular to the direction of adjustment (ie the mounting flange is horizontal and the direction of adjustment is vertical). In the case of ceiling mount brackets the mounting flange is in the same plane and the direction of adjustment (ie. both are in a vertical plane). It thus becomes necessary for manufacturers to produce both wall mount and ceiling mount brackets. Installers are also required to have on hand both types of brackets, which represents an increase in the cost of the installer's inventory.
There is therefore a need for an improved adjustable roller shade bracket.